Thursday, May 15, 2008

Undeserved Justice a Contradiction in terms

A young person in our confirmation class this week made a statement that I think is important to unpack. We were appreciating the characteristics of God especially as understood in the Old Testament and we came to the notion that this God we believe in must be a God of Justice. And we started to unravel what Justice means. I tied it into our understanding of God’s call to love our neighbour. And one youngster posed the question, “Why should we love somebody if they don’t deserve it, if they have made bad choices or are lazy. Lets say I have worked hard to achieve what I have got – why should I have to give to those who don’t deserve it?” A good lawyer this young man will make but not a good lover I am afraid to say! I don’t think it is a question of the young but it is a question of any hard working, law abiding, moral seeking person seeking to understand why others don’t pull up their socks. Justice should be to reward the hard working, the righteous, the upstanding! But, this God of the Old Testament continue to bring undeserved Justice again and again. It is especially difficult for a young person to appreciate how privileged they are. They haven’t yet come to see the deprivation of other peoples beginnings and the lack of resources available to them, not of their own choosing, but of their unfortunate circumstances. I thank God, that Jesus claimed to be God. That Jesus was able to give us another take on this God who loved the most undeserving. Sometimes there is no more undeserving than those who think they are deserving but God loves them nonetheless.